Hand held, portable, battery-operated computer devices which typically display information or play games and employ a video screen, such as a flat, LCD screen, are quite popular. Such devices would include, but not be limited to: calculators; computer video games; lap top computers; and other computers, particularly a compact video game known as the Game Boy.RTM. (a trademark of Nintendo of America, Inc.) is a self-sustained computer video game system. This compact video game system provides a battery-operated, portable, hand-held computer with a cross key "joy stick" to operate the game and "Start" and "Select" buttons with a video screen coupled with volume control so as to display and enable the user to display images and play games from inserted software. The video display screens of such hand-held computers are often difficult to observe in partial light conditions due to lack of adequate illumination on the video screen. The portable, compact light apparatus of the parent application has been developed to provide adequate illumination of the video screen.
In addition, one disadvantage in many of the hand-held, portable video display devices, such as the Game Boy.RTM. device, is the small size of the video display screen, while in addition, the images on the screen are often small sized figures, characters, words or instructions which are difficult to see and which therefore affects the efficiency and pleasure of the operation of the video display apparatus by the user.
Various magnifying devices have been proposed for use with hand-held video display apparatus for use with LCD screens and TV devices, such as for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,443,819, issued Apr. 17, 1984 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,935, issued Feb. 12, 1991. The prior application of the same assignee is directed to an improved magnifying apparatus for use particularly with the Game Boy.RTM. hand-held video game device.
The present light apparatus to enhance the indirect lighting of the video screen of a hand-held computer device and the portable magnifier lens apparatus to magnify the images on the video screen referred to in the Reference to Prior Applications are separately employed and attached to the hand-held computer device and of such nature and structure that they cannot be used together. It is desirable to provide an improved, combined, compact, portable light apparatus and magnifying apparatus for use with a hand-held computer device with a video screen to provide light for the video screen and also to enhance the magnification of the video screen.